r"

^ BOSTON ORCHESTRA

FOUNDED IN I88I BY HENRY LEE FHCGINSON

7 \%i m X -n

f \m -y^

SEVENTY-EIGHTH SEASON 1958-1959

Carnegie Hall, New York Boston Symphony Orchestra

(Seventy-eighth Season, 1958-1959) CHARLES MUNCH, Music Director RICHARD BURGIN, Associate Conductor PERSONNEL ViOUNS Violas Bass Richard Burgin Joseph de Pasquale Rosario Mazzeo Coricert-inaster Jean Cauhape Bassoons Alfred Krips Eugen Lehner Albert Bernard Sherman \Valt George Zaiofsky Ernst Panenka Rolland George Tapley Humphrey Theodore Brewster Norbert Lauga Jerome Lipson Vladimir Resnikoff Robert Karol Co N TRA - B.\ssoon Harr)' Dickson Reuben Green Richard Plaster Gottfried Wil finger Bernard Kadinoff Horns Vincent Mauricd Einar Hansen James Stagliano Joseph Leibovici John Fiasca Charles Yancidi Earl Hedberg Emil Komsand Harry Shapiro Roger Shermont Violoncellos Harold Meek Minot Beale Samuel Mayes Paul Keaney Silbennan Herman Alfred Zighera Osboume McConathy Stanley Benson Jacobus Langendocn Trumpets Leo Panasevich Mischa Nieland Roger \'oisin Sheldon Rotenberg Karl Zeise Armando Ghitalla Fredy Ostrovsky Josef Zimbler Andr^ Come Clarence Knudson Bernard Parronchi Gerard Goguen Pierre Mayer Martin Hoherman Trombones Manuel Zung Louis Berger William Gibson Samuel Diamond Richard Kapuscinski William Moyer Victor Manusevitch Robert Ripley Kauko Kabila Winograd James Nagy Winifred Josef Orosz Mclvin Brvant Flutes Lloyd Stonestreet Tuba Doriot Anthony Dwyer K. Vinal Smith Saverio Messina James Pappoutsakis William "VVaterhouse Phillip Kaplan Harps WilUam Marshall Bernard Zighera Leonard Moss Piccolo Olivia Luetcke Jesse Ccci George Madsen Timpani Noah Bielski Oboes Everett Firth Alfred Schneider Ralph Gomberg Harold Farberman Joseph Silverstein Jean Devergie Percussion f • John Holmes Basses Charles Smith Georges Moleux English H(MIN Harold Thompson Henry Freeman Arthur Press Irving Frankel Henry Portnoi Bernard Zi^era Henri Girard Gino Cioffi John Barwicki Manuel Valerio Library Leslie Martin Pasquale Cardillo Victor Alpert Ortiz \Valton Erf Clarinet William Shisler S E VE N T Y - E I G H T H SEASON, 1958-1959

Boston Symphony Orchestra

CHARLES MUNCH, Music Director Richard Burgin, Associate Conductor

CONCERT BULLETIN

with historical and descriptive notes by

John N. Burk

The trustees of the BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Inc.

Henry B. Cabot President

Jacob J. Kaplan Vice-President Richard C. Paine Treasurer Talcott M. Banks Henry A. Laughlin Theodore P. Ferris John T. Noonan Francis W. Hatch Palfrey Perkins Harold D. Hodgkinson Charles H. Stockton C. D. Jackson Raymond S. Wilkins E. Morton Jennings, Jr. Oliver Wolcott

TRUSTEES EMERITUS Philip R. Allen M. A. DeWolfe Howe N. Penrose Hallowell Lewis Perry Edward A. Taft

Thomas D. Perry, Jr., Manager

Norman S. Shirk James J. Brosnahan Assistant Manager Business Administratoi Leonard Burkat Rosario Mazzeo Music Administrator Personnel Manager

SYMPHONY HALL BOSTON 15 Saturday evenings at 8:30 WQXR brings you the concerts of the Boston Symphony direct from Boston. And every day^ early morning to late at nighty yyUJLlx broadcasts fine music and the hourly news bulletins of The

New York Times. Treat yourself to wonderful

listening. Tune to WQXR, 1560 AM, 96.3 FM, the radio station of The New York Times. mm

[«] SEVENTY-EIGHTH SEASON • NINETEEN HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT - FIFTY-NINE

Seventy-third Season in New York i

Fifth Evening Concert

WEDNESDAY, March ii, at 8:45 o'clock

Program

Faure "Pelleas et Melisande," Suite from the Incidental Music to Maeterlinck's Tragedy, Op. 80

I. Prelude: Quasi adagio

II. "Fileuse": Andantino quasi allegretto

III. Sicilienne: Allegretto molto moderate IV. Adagio

HoNEGGER Symphony No. 4, "Deliciae Basilienses"

I. Lento e misterioso; Allegro

II. Larghetto

III. Allegro INTERMISSION

Brahms in D major. Op. 77

I. Allegro non troppo

II. Adagio III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace

SOLOIST

Music of these programs is available at the Music Library, 58th Street Branch, the New York Public Library.

BALDWIN PIANO RCA VICTOR RECORDS

[S] "PELLEAS AND MELISANDE," Orchestral Suite, Op. 80, TAKEN FROM THE StAGE MuSIC TO MaETERLINCK's PlAY By Gabriel Faure

Born in Pamiers (Ari^ge), France, May 12, 1845; died in Passy, November 4, 1924

Composed in 1898, Faure 's incidental music to Maeterlinck's play was first heard in the production given in London, June 21, 1898, with Mrs. Patrick Campbell. There was a performance at the Boston Theatre in Boston, also by Mrs. Campbell's company, April 12, 1902. The suite drawn from the music was first performed at a

Lamoureux concert in , February 3, 1901. It was introduced in Boston at a concert of the New England Conservatory Orchestra, March 8, 1904. There was a performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, December 17, 1904, and again

December 2, 1905. Vincent d'Indy, as guest, conducted it March 18, 1911, Pierre

Monteux, November 23, 1923, , April 21, 1939, December 29, 1939, April 20, 1945 (two movements); November 23, 1945 (Paul Paray, ). Charles Munch performed the Molto adagio in memory of Ginette Neveu, November 18, 1949. The Suite was performed under the direction of Ernest Ansermet, Decem- ber 14-15, 1951.

(^(ipELL^AS ET MELISANDE/' with Faure's incidental music, was • produced four years before the first performance of Debussy's opera on the same play (the play without music had been published

in 1892 and first staged in Paris at the Bouffes Parisiens, May 17, 1893).

The first of the three movements in Gabriel Faure's suite i,s the

prelude to the play. Quasi adagio, it develops two themes of lyric character, and suggests the forest scene to come with a soft horn call.

The second movement, ''Fileuse," is an entr'acte in preparation for the third act where, in a room in the castle, "Pelleas and Melisande are discovered, Melisande spinning with a distaff at the back of the room." It is based upon a spinning figure in triplets {andantino quasi allegretto), which is given to the violins and occasionally alternated with the violas. The Adagio is from the closing scene, the death of Melisande.

[copyrighted]

"A Resort of True Distinction in the Matchless Berkshire Hills" THE BERKSHIRE I X ]\ GREAT BARRINGTON. MASSACHUSETTS invites you to enjoy its New England Charm and Hospitality Fine accommodations at moderate American and European Plan Rates Dining Rooms open from early morning until midnight Cocktail Lounge Open from May into November James J. Joyce, Landlord

[4] ;

PLANS FOR THE BERKSHIRE FESTIVAL

Charles Munch announces his program tured in all the works, and soloists for plans for the Berkshire Festival by this the Mozart "Requiem" and Beethoven's Orchestra at Tanglewood next summer. Ninth Symphony will include Adele The concerts will begin on Wednesday, Addison, soprano, Florence Kopleff, con- July 1, and close Sunday, August 9. tralto, Blake Stern, tenor and Donald Charles Munch will conduct fourteen Gramm, bass. John McCollum will be of the eighteen Festival concerts and tenor soloist in the Berlioz "Requiem." , the Orchestra's 84-year- Dr. Munch will also present Bach's old "conductor emeritus" will conduct Cantata No. 50, "Nun ist das Heil," on four concerts, one on each of the last July 3rd and Beethoven's Choral Fan- four weekends. tasy on August 7th. Rudolf Serkin, pianist, and Isaac Stern, Other Festival features include per- violinist, will each appear at three Fes- formances of Mozart's Piano Concerto tival concerts during the 1959 season. in G major, K. 453 and d'Indy's "Sym- Each has made special arrangements to phony on a French Mountain Air" by appear with the Boston Symphony Or- the French pianist, Nicole Henriot- chestra and will perform classics of the Schweitzer, and the Concerto for Violin concerto literature. Mr. Serkin will be and Oboe in C minor by Bach, per- heard in Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 formed with the Orchestra by Ruth in D minor. Op. 15; Mendelssohn's Posselt, violin, and Ralph Gomberg, Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. oboe. Bethany Beardslee, soprano, will 25; and two works by Beethoven—the be soloist in Bach's Cantata No. 51, Fantasy for Piano, Chorus and Orches- "Jauchzet Gott in alien Landen," and tra, and the Fourth Piano Concerto in the concert of Saturday evening, July 4, G major. Op. 58. Isaac Stern will be will be devoted to performances of soloist in the Violin Concertos of Tchai- Piano Concertos by Bach for one, two, kovsky, Brahms and Mendelssohn. three and four . The concerts of the first two weeks The Berkshire Festival dates follow of the Festival, in the Theatre-Concert the pattern of previous years with six Hall by members of the Boston Sym- weekends of concerts on Friday and phony Orchestra, will be devoted to Saturday evenings at 8:30 and Sunday music of Bach (July 3-4-5) and Mozart afternoons at 2:30. The first two week- (July 10-11-12), and will be conducted ends of concerts by a smaller orchestra by Charles Munch. The last four week- of Boston Symphony Orchestra members ends will follow a plan of previous in the Theatre-Concert Hall, under the years, featuring the works of the great direction of Charles Munch, are on , combined with contemporary July 3-4-5 (Bach), and July 10-11-12 works. The opening weekend will give (Mozart). The two Saturday evening especial prominence to music by Tchai- concerts of this series on July 4 and kovsky (July 17-18-19), and the follow- July 11 will be held in the Music Shed ing weeks to Brahms (July 24-25-26), to accommodate the larger demand for composers of the Romantic Period, seats for these performances. The last including Berlioz, Mendelssohn and four weekends by the full Boston Sym-

Schumann (July 31-August 1-2) ; and phony Orchestra in the Music Shed are:

Beethoven (August 7-8-9). Among the July 17-18-19 (Tchaikovsky) ; July 24- contemporary composers whose works 25-26 (Brahms) ; July 31-August 1-2

will be performed are Bohuslav Martinu, (Composers of the Romantic Period) ; Lukas Foss, Walter Piston and Aaron August 7-8-9 (Beethoven). Copland. Messrs. Copland and Foss will Six Concerts will be each conduct his own works. given on Wednesday evenings during the Dr. Munch will present three great Festival season in the Theatre-Concert works of the choral literature during Hall. These concerts will be given on this summer's Festival : the Mozart July 1-8-15-22-29 and August 5 and "Requiem" on Sunday, July 12; the proceeds will benefit the Tanglewood Berlioz "Requiem" on Friday, July 31 Revolving Scholarship Fund of the and the traditional close of the Berk- Berkshire Music Center. shire Festival, Beethoven's Ninth Sym- Ticket information is available at the phony. The Festival Chorus, of which Festival Ticket Office in Symphony Hall, Hugh Ross is conductor, will be fea- Boston 15.

[5] SYMPHONY NO. 4 fDELICIAE BASILIENSES") By

Bom in LcHavre, March 10, 1892; died in Paris, November 27, 1955

This symphony, composed in 1946, had its first performance by the Orchestra of Basel, January 21, 1947. It was introduced to this country by Charles Munch conducting the Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York, December 30, 1948.

THE following is inscribed upon the autographed score: "This fourth and probably last symphony was written for my friend Paul Sacher on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Baslerkammerorchester.''* A note by the written for the programs of the Basel Orchestra on the occasion of the Symphony's first performance has been quoted in the programs of the Symphony Society in the following translation:

"If the Symphonie Liturgique more or less follows the tradition of Beethoven, being in its essence of a dramatic and affecting quality, the present one, on the contrary, more properly gives evidence of a connec- tion with Haydn or Mozart in its spirit and its form. The instrumen- tation, which comprises two flutes, oboe, two clarinets, bassoon, two horns, trumpet, piano, and percussion, in addition to strings, virtually relates it to chamber music. The writing is transparent and, above all, linear. "The first movement, dating from June, 1946, expresses precisely a 'state of spirit.' In the midst of odious and stupid conditions of life which are imposed upon us, it raises the hope of an escape from such an atmosphere, as, for instance, to spend a summer in Switzerland, surrounded by affectionate friends for whom the musical art still plays a major role. This expectation instills in the composer the urge to create. "The second movement is based on the old popular song of Basle Z'Basel an mi'm Rhi, which toward the end of the movement is cited entire in its original and ingenious form [horn]:

I.:.';ijji.^>n,-iijjij p|i^j4fl^iijjii^iiii

"The Finale is of polyphonic construction, a bit complex, perhaps (but the listener needn't become too concerned about that), in which

* The words "This fourth and probably last symphony" indicate the later persuasion of Serge Koussevitzky for whom he wrote his Fifth. Paul Sacher, who conducts a chamber orchestra in Zurich and in Basel, has received the dedication and given first performances to Richard Strauss' Metamorphoseon, Martinu's Toccata and Two Canzone. Martin's Petite Symphonie Concertante, Stravinsky's Concerto for Strings in D major, and Honegger's Symphony for Strings, as well as this one. Each of these works, except that by Martinu, has been per- formed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

[«] the various components are progressively superposed. The form con- tains elements of rondo, passacaglia, and fugue. From all of these superpositions there leaps forth the tune Easier Morgenstreich, which

ir f n'riiTm'iiT^u fTr'r'iT i Ni i ^

soars over the stretto of the principal theme, and after a reference to the slow episode of the middle of the movement, there is a quick con- clusion, like a cloud of dust which disappears. "Because of the quotations of these characteristic songs, but even more so for personal reasons, I have employed the subtitle Deliciae Basilienses [Baslerian Delights]. I hope I have not been false to their spirit."

M. Honegger visited America in 1929, and conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra as guest on January 11-12. He returned to this country in the summer of 1947 at the invitation of the Berkshire Music Center, to take the composition class at Tanglewood with Aaron Copland. Arthur Honegger was a son of Switzerland, a true product of the

little country where it is claimed the fairer traits of the French and German peoples are "happily blended." "His education and general culture are purely French," says a

colleague, "but there is in his temperament a stratum of undeniable Germanic heredity which allies him to the great masters beyond the Rhine. In him blend harmoniously the intellectual qualities of the Latin, of dimension, clearness, and order, the delicacy of hearing and the sensitiveness natural to the Frenchman, with the instinct for dis- cipline and that depth of sentiment which are considered the heritage of the Germanic race." He was born and grew up in Havre, but his parents were both from Zurich, and the family often visited the Swiss city. Neither parent was particularly musical, but his mother played the piano sufficiently to fire K^^ISEL HALL, BLUE HILL, MAINE Summer School July 6th to August 29th, 1959 INTENSIVE ENSEMBLE and INDIVIDUAL TRAINING Distinguished Faculty includes: JOSEPH FUCHS-ARTUR BALSAM - LOUIS PERSINGER ROBERT GERLE - WALTER TRAMPLER - LUIGI SILVA RUTH BALSAM - CHRISTINE DETHIER - LOUISE BEHREND

MARIANNE KNEISEL, Director

190 RIVERSIDE DRIVE, NEW YORK 24, N. Y.

[7] him with an ardor for Beethoven's sonatas. An unnamed lady of the Austrian consulate at Zurich divined musical possibilities in the small boy of six, and urged his development. He was taught piano and violin, and it is reported that while his instruction was still limited to the beginning violinist's key of G, he wrote little pieces which he naively called "sonatas" and "operas," showing an instinctive understanding of musical forms. At sixteen he entered the business house of his father, but when he attended the Conservatory of Zurich, the director, Hegar, persuaded the by no means reluctant father that the art of music was the son's true and only place. He entered the Conservatoire in Paris in 1911, and there sat beside the young in the classes of Gedalge and Widor. His compositions as a student came under the beneficent eye of Vincent d'Indy. "The plant flourished under this culture," writes Roland Manuel in a monograph which carefully follows his stylistic development. "Where another would have been stung to rebellion by a regime of discipline, Honegger submitted peaceably, while the first foliations of an awaken- ing originality took their free course, quietly, but with increasing boldness, within the formal bounds. He gladly made Bach his master, ." studied the great architect of music with devotion. . . At twenty-five he was a self-found artist, and while passing under such influences as Ravel, Debussy, and German romanticism, it was a warrant of personal integrity that heterogeneous elements became fused and apt in his work. From 1916 to 1920, Honegger wrote a considerable amount of chamber music of which M. Roland Manuel considers the ' sonata most important. At about the end of the war, Honegger was frequently seen among the "Nouveaux Jeunes," so dubbed by Erik Satie, by him cherished and nurtured at his estab- lishment in the Rue Huyghens. It was here in 1919 that Honegger suddenly found himself publicly classified as one of the "groupe des six," a title which is now a legend. The episode may here be dismissed with a few lines from the com- poser himself. "The critic Henri Collet, of Comcedia, came one day to Milhaud, wishing to meet some of the younger musicians. That day he became acquainted with Auric, Durey, Milhaud, Poulenc, Germaine Tailleferre and myself. In an article a few days later he compared us to the 'Five' Russians, and called us the 'Six' French." The unexpected publicity was both widespread and misleading. These young people were not entirely averse to a reputation, and what they had never officially admitted they were not obliged officially to disclaim. Held together by no stronger bonds than companionship and a musical absorption in music, each continued blithely to pursue his or her own particular path.

[8] l^ld4AM(il[/^HIS DEDICATION AND INTERPRETIVE POWERS ARE MOVINGLY

REVEALED IN NEW ORTHOPHONIG SOUND, ON RCAVictor records exclusively

AWje^/«Mf''

Other recent albums by Charles Munch and the Boston Synnphony Orchestra in

in Italy *; New Orthophonic Sound: Berlioz: Harold Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 , " and Schubert; Unfinished" Symphony ; Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe. For your 11 x

14 copy of this drawing, suitable for framing, send 25^ with your return address to

RCA Victor Record Division, Dept. F-2, Box 469, Madison Post Office, N.Y. 10, N.Y-

*AL80 AVAILABLE ON NEW LIVING STEREO RECORDS.

I* T RADIO CORTOAATION OF AMERIC* [9] Honegger's path led him, by way of various incidental music and ballets, into a feat which surprised him probably as much as anyone else — incidental music for "Le Roi David," begun and finished by necessity, in two months, performed at the "Theatre du Jorat" in Mezieres, near Lausanne (1921), and within two years spread its wings as a widely popular oratorio. According to Manuel, he had no time to refine, to experiment, boldly to break new ground in a medium to him unaccustomed. The result was a score which, despite individual force and merit,

still leaned on tradition, and delighted the conservatives. But "Horace Victorieux" (1921) showed him uncorrupted by base concessions. "The rear guard," says Manuel, "were embarrassing the author of King David with welcoming smiles, while the advance guard, disgusted, were ready to bestow upon him the contemptuous label 'The Virtuous Arthur, Hero of the Philistines.' But, oblivious to the rumble of factions, the Virtuous Arthur' sat unperturbed in his study, smoking his pipe."

Rene Chalupt thus sums up his style: "Through the tutelage of an

uncongenial culture he has passed essentially unaffected. He is more interested in the nature of things than their changing phases. We see in him the image of the Horace whom he has created. His art possesses

muscular vigor and judicious wisdom, which, while husbanding its rhative force, can encompass victory." And even in the early Honegger, the same writer divined this virtue:

"Une serenite toute goethienne, indice de sa bonne sante intellectuelle."

The following music by Honegger has been performed by this Orchestra:

1922 (Nov. 2i) "Horace victorieux" (First American performance) 1924 (Oct. 10) "Pacific 2-3-1" (First American performance)

1927 (Apr. 1) "Pacific 2-3-1" (Oct. 28) Incidental Music to "Phedre"

1928 (Apr. 1) "King David" (Pension Fund concert) 1929 (Jan. 11) "Pacific 2-3-1" "Pastorale d'ete" • "La Petite sir^ne" Prayer from "Judith" "Rugby" "Chant de Nigamon" "Horace victorieux" Concertino for Piano (The above conducted by the composer) [lO] 1930 (Feb. 17) Concerto for Violoncello (Monday series)

1931 (Feb. 13) Symphony No. 1 (First performance)

(Mar. 19) Symphony No. 1

'933 (Nov. 3) Mouvement symphonique No. 3 1946 (Dec. 27) Symphony No. 2 1947 (Oct. 31) Symphony No. 2 (Nov. 21) Symphony No. 3 1948 (Oct. 8) Symphony No. 2

1949 (Apr. 1) Symphony No. 4 (Dec. 30) "Jeanne d'Arc an bucher" 1950 (Oct. 13) Prelude, Fugue and Postlude

1951 (Mar. 9) Symphony No. 5 (First performance)

1952 (Feb. 1) "Pacific 2-3-1" (Apr. 25) Symphony No. 2 (Dec. 19) "La Danse des morts" 1953 (Mar. 27) Symphony No. 2

(Nov. 20) Symphony No. i

1954 (Apr. 15) Symphony No. 1

(Nov. 5) Symphony No. 5

(Dec. 1) "A Christmas Cantata" (First performance in America)

1955 (Nov. 4) Symphony No. 4 (Dec. 2) Symphony No. 5 (First movement, played in memory of the composer)

1956 (Apr. 20) Symphony No. 3 "Chant de joie"

(Nov. 30) Symphony No. 2

1957 (Jan. 4) "Rugby" (Dec. 20) "A Christmas Cantata" 1958 (Oct. 10) Symphony No. 5 1959 (Mar. 6) Symphony No. 4 rCOPYRIGHTED]

VSlln.y Your grandfather turned up safe and sound, back where he'd first seen that fascinat- Or*a.]:iclfa»tHe]c* Ran ing engine. No spanking from his re- Away, THat I>ay lieved mother. For 95 years, children have been getting happily lost here, He was five years old» and he had seen among the red engines and other fas- a red engine here on a visit to Schwarz cinators we sell, at competitive prices. with his mother. Suddenly she missed Come in and get lost, and love it. him. After quite a boy-hunt, your Send for free Catalogue BS

•fl S C H ^A^AR Z Famous Toy Store

40 Newbury St., Boston 16, Hut., Telephont: COaaimmltli 6-5101

New Yorfe • ArdBori, Pa.

[•>] Can We Take Symphony For Granted?

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the world's greatest musical organizations.

Such excellence didn't just happen. It took many years of hard work and patient support to make our

Symphony what it is today.

Such excellence needs our support to continue.

All the Symphony's receipts — from ticket sales, endowment income, record contracts — don't make ends meet. To be sure, the management of the Boston Sym- phony Orchestra comes closer to bridging the gap between income and expenses than most such orchestras, but there

still is a sizable deficit.

The Friends of the Boston Symphony Orchestra exist to meet this need. An informal organization, 5000 members of the Friends contribute year by year to help

make up the annual deficit. Some Friends make large gifts, many more make smaller contributions, in accordance with their means.

The kind of excellence exemplified by the Boston

Symphony Orchestra deserves our support. We all want

it maintained. Why not send in a contribution and become a Friend?

The Friends of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Symphony Hall

Boston 15, Massachusetts

[»«] ;

CONCERTO IN D MAJOR FOR VIOLIN, Op. 77 By

Born at Hamburg, May 7, 1833; died at Vienna, April 3, 1897

Composed in the year 1878, Brahms' Violin Concerto had its first performance by the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig on January 1, 1879, Joachim playing the solo and Brahms conducting. The orchestral part of the concerto is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings. The concerto has been performed at Boston Symphony concerts by Franz Kneisel

(December 7, 1889) ; Adolph Brodsky (November 28, 1891) ; Franz Kneisel (April

'5' 1^93' February 13, 1897, December 29, 1900) ; Maud McCarthy (November 15, 1902, December 19, 1903); Fritz Kreisler (March 11, 1905); Hugo Heermann

(November 25, 1905) ; Carl Wendling (October 26, 1907); Felix Berber (November

26, 1910); Anton Witek (January 20, 1912) ; (April 3, 1914) ; Anton Witek (November 24, 1916); Richard Burgin (December 17, 1920); Georges Enesco (Jan- uary 19, 1923); (January 15, 1926); Albert Spalding (December

2, 1927) ; Jascha Heifetz (March 15, 1929) ; Nathan Milstein (March 13, 1931) Jascha Heifetz (December 17, 1937); Joseph Szigeti (March 17, 1944); Efrem Zimbalist (March 29, 1946); Jascha Heifetz (February 28, 1947); Ginette Neveu (October 24, 1947); Isaac Stern (January 23-24, 1953); Joseph Szigeti (December 3i-January 1, 1954-5); David Abel (February 17-18, 1956). It was performed at the Pension Fund Concert of December 15, 1955 by .

LIKE Beethoven, Brahms tried his hand but once upon a violin con- j certo — Hke Beethoven, too, he was not content to toss off a facile display piece in the style of his day. The result was pregnant with sym- phonic interest, containing much of Brahms' best. Joachim, for whom the concerto was written, might protest and threaten, as violinists or pianists have before and since against obdurate composers. Brahms consulted his friend readily and at length, but mainly for such work-a- day practicalities as fingering and bowing.* For years the concerto was avoided as unreasonably difficult by the rank of violinists seeking a convenient "vehicle" in which to promenade their talents. The work has triumphantly emerged and taken its secure place in the repertory

of concertos for its high musical values — and as such has become the ultimate test of breadth and artistic stamina in the violinist who dares

choose it. It was inevitable that Hans von Biilow, who called the piano con- certos " with piano obbligato," should have coined a corresponding epigram for this one. , said Biilow, wrote concertos for the violin, and Brahms a concerto against the violin. We hasten to add Huberman's improvement on Biilow in his dissertation

about the concerto form: "Brahms' concerto is neither against the vio- lin, nor for the violin, with orchestra: but it is a concerto for violin against orchestra, — and the violin wins." The word, "concerto," say the etymologists, derives from the Latin "certare,** to strive or wrestle.

* Karl Geiringer reproduces in his Life of Brahms a solo passage from the Concerto as originally written, Joachim's suggested emendation of it in the interest of effectiveness, and Brahms' ultimate alteration, accepting in general Joachim's configuration, but treating it in his own way. "Your delightful summer holiday," wrote Elisabet von Herzogen- berg to Brahms, "your beloved Portschach, with its lake from whose waves there rise D major symphonies and violin concertos, beautiful as any foam-born goddess!" In other words, this idyllic spot on the Worther See in Carinthia, Brahms* chosen retreat for three summers from 1877, gave birth to two works in the sunny key of D major — the Second Symphony and the Violin Concerto* — which were linked in character by his friends at the time, and have been by his commentators ever since. Dr. Dieters found in the two a similarity of mood; Miss May goes so far as to say that "the sentiment is maintained at a loftier height in the concerto, although the earlier composition, the symphony, has a limpid grace which has an immediate fascination for a general audi- ence." Walter Niemann associates the two as "among Brahms' great idyllic instrumental pieces with a serious tinge." He thus compares the two first movements: "The virile struggle of this so-called 'harsh' composer against his tender North German emotional nature, his con- flict with self, follows almost the same course as in the first movement of the Second Symphony. Thus the entry of the solo violin, after the rush of the great, broad tutti of the orchestra which precedes it, pro- duces a truly regal effect, as it improvises freely on the principal theme, and works it up from the idyllic to the heroic mood." Individuals may differ about the justness of comparing the two works quite so closely. Some may admit nothing more in common between the two than a thematic simplicity, largely based on the tonic chord, and a bounteous melodic fertility; in general — the familiar and infinitely cherished "poetic" Brahms. As usual in making his first venture in one of the larger forms, Brahms, with the expectant eyes of the musical world upon him, pro- ceeded with care. In 1878, when he wrote his violin concerto, the composer of two highly successful symphonies and the much beloved Deutsches Requiem had nothing to fear for his prestige in these fields. About concertos, matters stood differently. His single attempt to date, the D minor Piano Concerto, had begun its career eighteen years before with a fiasco, and was to that day heard only on sufferance, out of the respect due to the composer of numerous far more biddable scores. In writing a violin concerto, Brahms was looked upon as a challenger of Beethoven, of Mendelssohn, and of his popular contem- porary, ^ax Bruch. Brahms wrote his concerto for Josef Joachim (Joachim's copy of the score is inscribed "To him for whom it was written") . It is to be taken for granted that Brahms, who had often consulted his old friend about such works as the First Piano Concerto and the First Symphony,

* Brahms completed his Second Symphony in the autumn of 1877 ; the concerto just a year later. [H] should in this case have looked for the advice of the virtuoso who was to play it. Writing to Joachim early in the autumn of 1878, he hesi- tated about committing himself, yielding the manuscript for a per- formance in the coming winter. He even "offered his fingers" as an alternative, for a concert in Vienna. The score, with a fair copy of the solo part, which he sent for Joachim's inspection, was in its ultimate form of three movements, proper to concertos. He had first worked upon the symphonic procedure of two middle movements, but gave up the scherzo, and considerably revised the adagio. "The middle movements have gone," he wrote, "and of course they were the bestl But I have written a feeble adagio." Kalbeck conjectures the derelict scherzo may have found its way into the Second Piano Concerto, where Brahms succumbed to the temptation of a symphonic four movement outlay. There was an interchange of correspondence about the solo part, of which Brahms sent Joachim a rough draft on August 22. Joachim complained of "unaccustomed difficulties." The composer seems to have held his own with considerable determination. An initial per- formance for Vienna was discussed, and given up. The problem was approached once more in mid-December, when Brahms sent Joachim a "beautifully written" copy of the solo part, presumably with correc- tions. "Joachim is coming here," he then wrote from Vienna, "and I should have a chance to try the concerto through with him, and to decide for or against a public performance." The verdict is reported on December 21: "I may say that Joachim is quite keen on playing the concerto, so it may come off after all." It "came off" in Leipzig, at a Gewandhaus concert on New Year's Day, 1879. Joachim of course played, and Brahms conducted. The composer had protested a plan to have his C minor symphony played on the same program, "because the orchestra will be tired as it is, and I don't know how difficult the concerto will prove." Accordingly, Beethoven's Seventh ended the concert, which otherwise consisted of an overture, and some airs sung by Marcella Sembrich (then twenty- adding, for measure, Bach's Chaconne. The critic one) , Joachim good Dorffel, in a rapturous review, admits: "as to the reception, the first movement was too new to be distinctly appreciated by the audience, the second made considerable way, the last aroused great enthusiasm." Yet Kalbeck reports a lack of enthusiasm, which he attributes to the soloist: "It seemed that Joachim had not sufficiently studied the con- certo or he was severely indisposed." Apparently the violinist was not wholly attuned to the piece at first, for after he and Brahms had played it in Vienna, the latter wrote from that city: "Joachim played my piece more beautifully with every rehearsal, and the cadenza went so mag- nificently at our concert here that the people clapped right on into Us] my coda" (so much for concert behavior in Vienna, 1879) . In April of that year, having further played the work in Budapest, Cologne, and twice in London, Joachim seems to have had a musical awakening. Writing to Brahms about further changes he said: "With these excep- tions the piece, especially the first movement, pleases me more and more. The last two times I played without notes."

• •

"This concerto for violin is now more than half a century old," wrote Lawrence Gilman in an analysis which is informative yet characteristically free from dry dissection. "It is still fresh, vivid, companionable — unaged and unaging. "The main theme of the first movement (Allegro non troppo, D major, 3-4) is announced at once by ', violas, bassoons, and horns. "This subject, and three contrasting song-like themes, together with an energetic dotted figure, marcato, furnish the thematic material of the first movement. The violin is introduced, after almost a hundred measures for the orchestra alone, in an extended section, chiefly of passage-work, as preamble to the exposition of the chief theme. The caressing and delicate weaving of the solo instrument about the melodic outlines of the song themes in the orchestra is unforgettable. "This feature is even more pronounced in the second movement (Adagio, F major, 2-4), where the solo violin, having made its compli- ments to the chief subject (the opening melody for oboe), announces a second theme, which it proceeds to embroider with captivating and tender beauty. Perhaps not since Chopin have the possibilities of deco- rative figuration developed so rich a yield of poetic loveliness as in this Concerto. Brahms is here ornamental without ornateness, florid without excess; these arabesques have the dignity and fervor of pure lyric speech. "The Finale (Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace, D major, 2-4) is a virtuoso's paradise. The jocund chief theme, in thirds, is stated at once by the solo violin. There is many a hazard for the soloist: ticklish passage work, double-stopping, arpeggios. Also there is much spirited and fascinating music — music of rhythmical charm and gusto." [copyrighted]

CHRISTIAN FERRAS

CHRISTIAN Ferras was bom June 17, 1933, at Touquet in northern France, and began his musical studies at the age of seven. He took first prize at the Paris Conservatoire in 1946 for violin in the class of Ren^ Benedetti, and for chamber music in the class of Joseph Calvet. He took further first prizes at the International Competition at Scheveningen in Holland, and the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris. He has in the last eight years devoted himself to numerous concerts in Europe, playing with its principal orchestras. He toured South America in 1955 ^^^ made his first appearance in the United States with this Orchestra March 6.

I16] LIST OF WORKS Performed in the Evening Series

DURING THE SEASON 1958 - 1959

Berlioz Overture to "Beatrice et Benedict" I November 12

Blackwood Symphony No. i (First performance in New York) I November 12

Brahms Symphony No. 4, in E minor, Op. 98 I November 12

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 Soloist: CHRISTIAN FERRAS V March 11

Faure "Pelleas et MeHsande," Suite from the Incidental Music to Maeterlinck's Tragedy, Op. 80 V March 11

Haieff Symphony No. 2 (First performance in New York) II December 10

Handel Concerto for Oboe, in G minor Soloist: RALPH GOMBERG II December lo

HiNDEMiTH Symphony, "Mathis der Maler" III January 14

Honegger Symphony No. 4, "Deliciae Basilienses" V March 11

KuRKA Symphony No. 2, Op. 24 (First performance in New York) HI January 14

Piston Symphony No. 3 IV February 18

Ravel La Valse, Choreographic Poem IV February 18

Schubert Symphony in C major, No. 7 II December 10

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6, in B minor, "Pathetique," Op. 74 III January 14

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 Soloist: HENRYK SZERYNG IV February 18

Weber Overture to "Oberon" IV February 18

Robert Shaw conducted the concert on January 14 [17] niTfpii

CARNEGIE HALL

SEASON OF 1959-1960

Se\ enty-fourth Season in New York

Boston Symphony Orchestra

CHARLES MUNCH, Music Director

miiiiP

Two Series of Five Concerts Each

Five Five WEDNESDAY SATURDAY

Evenings at 8:45 Afternoons at 2 : 30

november 18 november 21

december 16 december 19

JANUARY 20 JANUARY 23

FEBRUARY 17 FEBRUARY 20

MARCH 23 MARCH 26

nnpn

Renewal cards will be mailed to subscribers during the week of March 16

All applications and communications should he addressed to J

Thomas D. Perry, Jr., Manager 4

SYMPHONY HALL, BOSTON i

u4kiLiu'Jiiiiii"'iii^iiiMiiiiiiimiii]iLiiiiiiiuJiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijjiiiiiiiiiiiibniiiiiiiMiiiiiiyiiiiiiiiii^^^

[18] SEVENTY-EIGHTH SEASON • NINETEEN HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT - FIFTY-NINE

Seventy-third Season in New York

Fifth Afternoon Concert

SATURDAY, March 14, at 2:30 o'clock

Program

Berlioz "Royal Hunt and Storm," Descriptive Symphony from "The Trojans"

Bloch *"Schelomo" (Solomon), Hebrew Rhapsody for 'Cello and Orchestra

intermission

Strauss Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53

SOLOIST SAMUEL MAYES

Music of these programs is available at the Music Library, 58th Street Branch, the New York Public Library.

BALDWIN PIANO *RCA VICTOR RECORDS

[If] "Chasse Royale et Orage" ("Royal Hunt and Tempest"), Symphonie Descriptive, from Part II of "Les Troyens" By Hector Berlioz

Bom in Cote-Saint-Andr^ (Is^re) on December ii, 1803;

died in Paris on March 9, 1869

Les Troyens was composed between 1856 and 1858. Berlioz divided it into two parts. La Prise de Troie and Les Troyens a Carthage. The "Royal Hunt and Storm"

is an instrumental interlude in the second part. Les Troyens a Carthage, consisting of five acts with a prologue, was first performed at the Theatre Lyrique, November

4, 1863, The first opera. The Capture of Troy, was never heard by its composer. Felix Mottl conducted the full opera Les Troyens on two successive evenings,

December 6 and 7, 1890, at Carlsruhe. La Prise de Troie was performed in Paris

at the Op6ra, November 15, 1899. Les Troyens as a whole had its first performance in English at Glasgow, March

18 and 19, 1935. A revival at Convent Garden, London, in June, 1957, brought the whole opera into an evening's performance, encompassed (with a few cuts) in five hours. Sir John Gielgud directed the production and Rafael Kubelik conducted. The first stage performance in the United States was given by the New England Opera Theatre, under the direction of Boris Goldovsky, March 27, 1955 (considerably reduced in length). The "Descriptive Symphony" was performed at the concerts of this Orchestra by , February 28, 1919, by Sir Thomas Beecham, January 20, 1928, by Charles Munch, October 3-4, 1952. The operatic production calls for stage action and a mixed chorus. The orches- tration is as follows: 2 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 cornets, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum and strings.

T>ERLioz intended his "Royal Hunt and Storm" to depict the moment -^ in the opera when Aeneas and Dido are driven by a storm which

Venus has contrived into a cave where their love is consummated.

Virgil covers it with singular brevity in the following lines of the Aeneid, Book IV:

Speluncam Dido dux et Trojanus eamdem

Devenient . . Hie Hymenaeus erit*

According to the stage directions. Naiads are seen "sporting among the reeds." A hunting fanfare frightens and disperses them. The hunter is seen but with the coming of the storm he takes shelter. "A

thunderbolt falls, shatters an oak and fires it, sylvan crea- whereupon jj tures and Satyrs brandish the blazing branches as nuptial torches." The

cries of nymphs are heard calling prophetically "Italy! Italy!" The \

tempest dies away wdth a last echo of the hunting call. The cries of ' "Italie" are of the greatest significance to a listener immediately aware

of the whole opera. The founding of a new empire is the destiny,

• To "that very cave came Dido and the Trojan chief—this was their nuptial hour. [10] the solemn obligation laid upon the Trojan host, and the same cry precedes the appearance of the ghosts of the slain heroes of Troy to warn the diverted Aeneas of his mission. Berlioz probably had a special intent in naming this a "Descriptive Symphony." It does not find a suitable place in the succession of acts, but is rather a separate tone poem, drawing the crux of the tragedy into a sort of separate musical entity. Ernest Newman has pointed out how the episode so succinctly described by Virgil is "the point of supreme tension and supreme significance. These qualities it derives from the fact that the now unbalanced Dido decides to marry Aeneas, so making him King of Carthage. With this resolution Dido has signed her own death warrant: Carthage, we are given clearly to under- stand, will not tolerate a Trojan king, while the plan does not agree with the artful schemes of either of the double-dealing goddesses, Juno and Venus. So Dido has let herself be caught in a net from which she cannot escape. The shades of Priam, Hector and other Trojan heroes for the last time exhort Aeneas to fulfill his Roman destiny. He obeys, and Dido is doomed."

From the first, Berlioz had doubts about the suitability of this "Symphony" within the opera. He wrote on the manuscript: "In case the theatre is not big enough to allow the animated and grand stage business of this interlude, if one cannot obtain chorus women to run about the stage with dishevelled hair, and chorus men dressed as Fauns and Satyrs to indulge themselves in grotesque gambols ... if the firemen are afraid of fire, the machinists afraid of water, the director afraid of everything, this symphony should be wholly suppressed. Furthermore for a good performance a powerful orchestra, one seldom found in opera houses, is necessary."

His misgivings were justified. At the first performance in the Theatre Lyrique, according to Berlioz* Memoirs, "the interlude of the chase was wretchedly managed. They gave me a painted torrent instead of several real waterfalls; the dancing Satyrs were represented by a group of little twelve-year-old girls; they did not hold the burning branches, for the firemen objected from fear of fire. The Nymphs did not run wildly across the forest, shouting 'Italy!'; the female chorus was placed in the wings and their cries were not heard in the hall; the thunder was scarcely heard when the bolt fell, although the orchestra was small and feeble. The machinist demanded at least forty minutes to shift the scene after this pitiful parody." The interlude as a concert number without these visual distractions has had a different fate. [copyrighted]

[«i] "SCHELOMO" ("SOLOMON"), Hebrew Rhapsody for Violoncello and Orchestra By Ernest Bloch Bom at Geneva, Switzerland, July 24, 1880

Ernest Bloch composed his "Schelomo" early in 1916 at his home in Geneva. The Rhapsody had its first performance at a concert of the Society of the Friends of Music in Carnegie Hall, New York, Hans Kindler soloist. May 13, 1917. The first performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra was on April 13, 1923, Jean Bedetti, cellist. The piece is scored for 3 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets and bass clarinet, 2 bassoons and contra-bassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, tambourin, cymbals, tam-tam, celesta, 2 harps and strings. The score was published in 1918.

VIVID and sympathetic description of "Schelomo" was contributed A by Guido M. Gatti to La Critica Musicale. Written as long ago as 1920, it has never been superseded, and is here quoted in the trans- lation of Theodore Baker: "The Hebrew rhapsody for solo violoncello with orchestra bears the name of the great king Schelomo (Solomon). In this, without taking thought for development and formal consistency, without the fetters of a text requiring interpretation, he has given free course to his fancy; the multiplex figure of the founder of the Great Temple lent itself, after setting it upon a lofty throne, and chiseling its lineaments, to the creation of a phantasmagorical entourage of persons and scenes in rapid and kaleidoscopic succession. The violoncello, with its ample breadth of phrasing, now melodic and with moments of superb lyricism, now declamatory and with robustly dramatic lights and shades, lends itself to a reincarnation of Solomon in all his glory, surrounded by his thousand wives and concubines, with his multitude of slaves and warriors behind him. His voice resounds in the devotional silence, and the sentences of his wisdom sink into the heart as the seed into a fertile soil: 'Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun? One gen- eration passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. . . . He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow/

At times the sonorous voice of the violoncello is heard predominant amid a breathless and fateful obscurity throbbing with persistent rhythms; again, it blends in a phantasmagorical paroxysm of poly- chromatic tones shot through with silvery clangors and frenzies of exultaticMi. And anon one finds oneself in the heart of a dream-world, in an Orient of fancy, where men and women of every race and tongue are holding arguments or hurling maledictions; and now and again we hear the mournful accents of the prophetic seer, under the influence of which all bow down and listen reverently. The entire discourse of the soloist, vocal rather than instrumental, seems like musical expres- sion intimately conjoined with the Talmudic prose. The pauses, the repetitions of entire passages, the leaps of a double octave, the chro- matic progressions, all find their analogues in the Book of Ecclesiastes — in the versicles, in the fairly epigraphic reiteration of the admoni-

tions ('and all is vanity and vexation of spirit'), in the unexpected shifts from one thought to another, in certain crescendi of emotion that end in explosions of anger or grief uncontrolled."

• •

The music of Ernest Bloch was first heard at the concerts of the Boston Symphony Orchestra when the composer conducted his "Three

Jewish Poems" March 23 and 24, 1917. Two of the Three Psalms which he set for soprano and orchestra were sung by Mme. Povla Frijsh,

November 14, 1919. His orchestral poems. Winter, Spring were per- formed April 29, 1921; his Suite for Viola and Orchestra, December 11,

1925 and November 10, 1944; his Concerto Grosso No. 1 for String Orchestra, December 24, 1925; Four Episodes for Chamber Orchestra, December 29, 1927; and America, December 21, 1928. America was repeated in the following year; the Three Jewish Poems has had per- formances in 1926, 1927 and 1936. On March 17-18, 1939, the composer conducted his Macbeth interludes, Three Jewish Poems, and America,

His Violin Concerto was performed January 5, 1940; Baal Shem, Febru- ary 2, 1951; Concerto Symphonique, November 28, 1952; Concerto

Grosso No. 2, October 9, 1953. "Schelomo" belongs to a period in Bloch's artistic career which was devoted to Hebrew subjects. In addition to the Psalms and the "Three Jewish Poems," there was the Symphony "Israel" of 1918. Subsequently the composer turned to subjects less objectively racial in character, but usually either quite abstract in form or pictorial in suggestion. The rhapsody America, with choral finale, expressed Bloch's conscious identity with this country through long residence and sympathy. In recent years the composer has turned once more to the treasure of the Hebraic musical tradition for his subjects. [copyrighted]

SAMUEL MAYES

SAMUEL Mayes joined this Orchestra as Principal Cello in 1948 and played in Boccherini's Concerto in B-flat in that season. He has since appeared in Strauss' Don Quixote (1950), Kabalevsky's Concerto (1953), and with Zino Francescatti in Brahms' (1956). Born in St. Louis, Mr. Mayes is the grandson of a Cherokee Indian. At the age of four, he studied cello with Max Steindel of the St. Louis Orchestra and appeared as soloist with that Orchestra at the age of eight. Entering the Curtis Institute at twelve, he studied with Felix Salmond. At eighteen, he joined the and shared its first desk three years later.

[«5] TEN YEARS OF CONCERTS WITH CHARLES MUNCH

CHARLES Munch is completing ten years of concerts in Carnegie Hall as the Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His tenure to date is longer than any previous uninterrupted term except that of Koussevitzky.

It has been a significant decade. The Orchestra made its first journey to Europe in the spring of 1952, a transcontinental tour in the following spring, and a second tour of Europe in 1956. The concerts are finding an ever-increasing public. They are now broadcast to Europe and various parts of America; they are occasionally televised. A larger number of recordings are made each year. Dr. Munch has increased the audiences at home by opening certain rehearsals to the public — drawing a younger audience into the privilege of symphonic music. The Berkshire Festival and the simultaneous school at Tanglewood, both under the direction of Dr. Munch, continue to draw music- minded multitudes from parts near and far. An event of these years was the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary season of the Orchestra, in 1955-1956. Dr. Munch invited several composers to provide works for the occasion and these were performed in that season and later, as they were forthcoming. They were Copland's

Symphonic Ode (revised), Hanson's Elegy, Milhaud's Symphony No. 6,

Petrassi's Fifth Concerto for Orchestra, Piston's Symphony No. 6, Villa-Lobos' Symphony No. 11. In the season 1957-1958, Einem's

The New England Conservatory A COLLEGE OF MUSIC Founded in i86y James Aliferis, President Spring Concert by the CONSERVATORY CHORUS LoRNA Cooke deVaron, Conductor POULENC BACH PURCELL PALESTRINA JANNEQUIN Tuesday, March 17 8:30 P.M. Jordan Hall

Tickets without charge at Jordan Hall Box Office, or write Dean enclosing stamped return envelope.

290 HUNTINGTON AVENUE BOSTON 15, MASSACHUSETTS

[241 Symphonic Scenes and Sessions' Symphony No. 3 were performed. Dutilleux's Symphony for Two Orchestras is scheduled for next autumn. Dr. Munch personally commissioned Martinu's Fantaisies symphoniques, and his "Parables/' performed respectively in the anniversary season and the season now ending.

It is interesting to compare Dr. Munch's 100 programs in the New York series with the chapter "Making a Program" in his book, / am a Conductor, which appeared in 1955. He there gives a "typical example," calling it "one scheme among many which seem reasonable to me: 1 — A classical symphony or a baroque concerto grosso, or an overture; 2 — a difficult work. This is the place for Berg or Bartok; 3 — A big symphony. "First we prepare the terrain and sharpen the receptivity. Then we can try to make the public love music whose tartness may still be dis- turbing. Finally, the classical, rich and solid, relaxes the atmosphere." Looking over the programs, one finds that this basic scheme persists, although not without many variants. From this point of view the total repertory of ten years accordingly divides into three parts — the early classical, the contemporary, and the giants of the century past. The count of the composers most represented will show the preponderance of the last category. Of works by Beethoven and Brahms there were 24 performances each. By Mozart 19, by Ravel 19, Debussy 16, Berlioz 15, Stravinsky

15, Tchaikovsky 14, Honegger 12, Schumann 12, Haydn 9, Bach 8,

Bartok 8, Strauss 8, Handel 7, Sibelius 7, other composers 6 or less. During these ten years, 45 new works by 35 different composers have been given their first New York performances. Works of some 20 American composers (either by birth or long residence) have appeared on the Orchestra's New York programs. Guest conductors were: Ernest Ansermet, , Richard Burgin, Guido Cantelli, Serge Koussevitzky, Pierre Monteux, Robert Shaw.

BOSTON . . .

WELLESLEY . .

and now in the NORTHSHORE SHOPPING CENTER W. W. WINSHIP Fine Luggage end Leather Goods Est. 1776

[«5] ENTR'ACTE THE ART OF PLEASING ALMOST EVERYBODY

CONVERSATION between three men after a symphony concert A developed into a discussion of how a program should be put together. One of them, a serious student of music, argued for chron- ology, and another, a mere record enthusiast, opposed him as tying the contingencies of the moment to an academic strait-jacket. The third man, far older and a concert-goer through many years, only remarked that an early piece, something by Bach, or Mozart, or Haydn, had always been and always would make a good opener. He would not commit himself about the order of what might follow. At this point, the Record Enthusiast triumphantly produced the recent book by Irving Kolodin, The Musical Life, and read them the opening paragraph. Chapter I was called "The Art of the Program." It described a concert in London which had been labelled "The Retreat from Wagner," and was as follows:

Wagner: Immolation Scene from Gdtterddmmerung Debussy: Two Nocturnes Scriabin: The Poem of Ecstasy Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms

"There," exclaimed the Record Enthusiast, "is strict chronology.

It begins with a tremendous climax, and leads you at last into a still corner of religious contemplation." The Student rather liked it never- theless. It was an interesting demonstration of what can happen to music in the course of sixty years. He was promptly reminded that a symphony audience is not a composition class. The chapter was further pursued by all three, as Mr. Kolodin assembled a list of rules which could guide a conductor into the right pattern for a program. He evidently found it too confining to lay down rigid principles. Chronology, for example. "Kinship may be one formula, diversity another." Every method seemed to depend on cases. The conductor, of course, should have a wide acquaintance, both with old works and new, and a high standard of selection for both. Seventy- five minutes of music, not counting pauses, he considered a good average length. "Two big works may be acceptable, if properly balanced. Four short ones may also appeal, if properly mated. Two short ones and a long one strike me, on inspection, as unbalanced. A strong novelty may survive juxtaposition with a pair of masterpieces," etc. The writer was particularly insistent that soloists should be engaged only so often as a balanced representation of the symphonic repertory requires, and should not be engaged for "box office" reasons, a practice resulting in programs built around a star.

[26] "Ideally," wrote Mr. Kolodin with point, "a symphony orchestra should serve a city as a museum or library does: as a custodian of the best creations of all periods, providing its public with the range of material from which a broad point of view can be derived. It would do for music what the others do for painting and sculpture, fiction or poetry. In a period of five seasons or so, the listener would be taken on a comprehensive trip through schools and styles." This seemed reasonable enough until, three pages later, Mr. Kolodin contrived a set of six programs "to implement my own arguments." Here they were:

Le Tombeau de Couperin Ravel

Symphony No. 5 {"Lenore"), in E Raff

Concerto No. 25, in C, K. 503 Mozart Danzas Fantasticas TURINA

2. Overture, Patrie Bizet

Symphony No. 6, in C Schubert

Istar Variations d'Indy Nightride and Sunrise Sibelius

3. Symphony No. 8, in F Beethoven

Symphony No. 8, in C minor Bruckner

4. Overture, Portsmouth Point Walton Rio Grande Lambert

Suite for Strings (arranged by Barbirolli) Purcell Appalachia Delius

5. Overture in D minor Handel Concerto in A minor (for violin) Bach Concerto in B-flat (for cello) Vivaldi

Double Concerto in A minor Brahms

6. Overture, Le Corsair Berlioz Symphony on a Mountain Air (with solo piano) d'Indy

Symphony No. 3 {"Espansiva") Nielsen

No one seemed to be convinced by these programs as an "imple- mentation" of the foregoing "arguments." Some points were consistent. Mozart's late C major Concerto, a half-hour piece, was a sufficient apportionment for a pianist. But d'Indy's piece in the last program was definitely short shrift for a soloist, offering little more than obbli- gato. The fourth had an extra-musical motivation — it was all English.

As for the fifth program, so the Older Man remarked, it looked as

[27] though a violinist and cellist had simply hired an orchestra to back them up, a large part of it not needed until after the intermission. The Record Enthusiast noticed that there was no symphony by Brahms, and only one by Beethoven. Would Kolodin perhaps guar- antee a festival with these six programs, ending with Nielsen's Third Symphony? He had never heard Nielsen's "Expansive" Symphony, but wondered if it did what the title said, and how. The Student reminded him that he was being quite unfair. Mr.

Kolodin had introduced his list by saying: "I submit a half dozen programs I would relish hearing." That meant that he was not neces- sarily presenting them as a balanced sequence, and also that he was freely favoring his own personal preferences. Mr. Kolodin, as a pro- fessional critic, must have listened to each symphony of Brahms, the Third, Fifth, or Seventh of Beethoven, some fifty times, and written about them again and again. Would he choose the Fifth of Beethoven if he could have the Eighth, the "Unfinished" of Schubert if he could have the seldom heard Sixth? Most of the works listed are the sort, excellent and enjoyable in their way, which just fall short of "great- ness," and have not quite made the permanent repertory. For that very reason they would be refreshing and stimulating to a professional critic who had in the line of duty dealt too frequently with the standard classics. Rather than continue about their irreconcilable preferences, the three companions agreed on one point at least — the audience is always many-minded. The newer the music, the wider is the diversity of opinion. When a standard symphony is performed there are those who could not hear it too often, those who would like to hear it less often, and even those who are hearing it for the first time. When the con- ductor puts together a program, he can no more than estimate what will best serve his total audience. When it comes to the arrangement, the nature of what he gives will determine the order of the giving. J.N.B.

SYMPHONIA DOMESTICA, Op. 53 By Richard Strauss

Born in Munich, June 11, 1864; died in Garmisch, September 8, 1949

The score is inscribed on its last page: "Charlottenburg, December 31, 1903." The Symphonia Domestica had its first performance at a Strauss Festival in New York, the composer conducting Hans Hermann Wetzler's Orchestra, March 21, 1904.*

* This was the fourth and last concert of the Festival. The program opened with "Don Juan" and closed with "Also Sprach Zarathustra." Henry T. Finck, the New York critic, wrote that the Festival was by no means a brilliant success, notwithstanding the co-operation of the composer and his wife [Pauline Strauss-de Ahna, a soprano singer]. The press was for the most part hostile ; so much so that when, a little later, Strauss came across a fault-finder in Chicago, he asked, "Are you, perhaps, from New York?" Mr, Finck was probably the leading spirit of New York's hostility. He was a cordial Strauss hater—so much so that he wrote an entire book to voice his disapproval in all its completeness. [88] The Symphonia Domestica was first performed at the concerts of the Boston Sym- phony Orchestra February 15, 1907. The symphony is scored for piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, oboe d'amore, English horn, clarinet in D, clarinet in A, 2 clarinets in B-flat, bass clarinet, 4 bassoons, double- bassoon, 8 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, 4 saxophones ad lib (not used in this performance), 4 kettle-drums, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, glock- enspiel, 2 harps, and strings. npHis is the last but one of Strauss's mighty series of tone poems.

^ Written in 1903, it was followed belatedly in 1915 by the Alpine Symphony * When the Symphonia Domestica had its original New York performance, the composer gave out no verbal clue of his inten- tions beyond the title itself and the dedication: ''Meiner lieben Frau und unserm Jungen" He said to an interviewer, "I wish my music to be listened to purely as music." This caused much argument and speculation, for Strauss had given out a plain hint of a program before he had composed the work. He had told a reporter of the Musical Times in London in 1902: "My next tone poem will illustrate *a day in my family.* It will be partly lyrical, partly humorous — a triple fugue, the three subjects representing papa, mamma, and baby." When the new "symphony" was played at Frankfort-on-the-Main in June of that year, in Dresden in November and in Berlin in Decem- ber, divisions and subtitles appeared in the programs. When it was played in London, in February, 1905, there were disclosures branded as "official" which had not previously appeared. "In accordance with his custom," said the Daily News, "he has not put forward a definite program of his own, but, with some inconsistency, he has allowed a description to be made public — with some inconsistency because he has declared that he wishes his music to be listened to as if it meant nothing in particular if the hearer feels more comfortable in ignoring the program." The description which followed interpreted the scherzo "as representing the child in its bath," the subject of the fugue as a "merry argument," the "dispute between father and mother being the future of the son." A nine-page analysis of the score by William Klatte, whose analyses have been taken as sanctioned by the com- poser, had appeared in Die Musik for January, 1905. Strauss, who after writing each of his tone poems had been harassed by the curious when he withheld a program, upbraided by the conventional when he gave one out, in this case suffered both ills, and was additionally accused by some of not knowing his own mind, by others of publicity- seeking. "With each new work of Strauss," wrote Ernest Newman,

* The order of the symhonic poems was as follows : Aus Italien, symphonic fantasy, 1887 Macbeth, , 1887 Don Juan, symphonic poem, 1888 Tod und Verkldrung, symphonic poem, 1889 Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, symphonic poem, 1895 Also sprach Zarathuatra, symphonic poem, 1896 Don Quixote, fantastic variations. 1897 Ein Heldenlehen, symphonic poem, 1898 Symphonia Domestica, 1903 Fine Alpenainfonie, 1915

[29] . .

"there is the same tomfoolery — one can use no milder word to de- scribe proceedings that no doubt have a rude kind of German humor, but that strike other people as more than a trifle silly. So it is now with the Symphonia Domestica. Strauss, not unlike most artists, may be reasonably supposed to have hoped, above all, for a general understanding of his musical intentions — a clear and straight appre- hension of his music, as he himself felt it. There intervened the in- evitable obstacle of the program. In trying to explain himself he usually started up a babble of altercation which obscured his true musical purposes to the world. Striving to avoid the dilemma, he some- times brought it more than ever upon his head. The Domestica divides into the four distinct sections of a sym- phony. The verbal description as permitted by the composer was finally boiled down, in the Berlin Philharmonic concert of December 12, 1904, to this skeleton guide:

"I. Introduction and development of the three chief groups of themes. The husband's themes: (a) Easy-going, (b) Dreamy, (c) Fiery. The wife's themes: (a) Lively and gay. (b) Grazioso. The child's theme: Tranquil.

II. Scherzo. Parent's happiness. Childish play. Cradle song (the clock strikes seven in the evening). III. Adagio. Doing and thinking. Love scene. Dreams and cares (the clock strikes seven in the morning) IV. Finale. Awakening and merry dispute (double fugue) Joyous conclusion."

There is no break in the flow of the score, and the whole is far more closely integrated by the constantly recurring themes of its three characters than the most "cyclic" of symphonies.

The work starts with the depiction of the husband in his several moods, which blend one into the other. There are three principal themes set forth in close succession. The 'cellos open the score with a theme marked ''gemdchlich" ("comfortable," "good-humored," **easy-going") in ; the fifth bar the oboe gives a gentle, "dreamy" theme; there is a subsidiary theme (for the clarinets) marked 'miirrischr but it is not sufficiently "grumpy" to ruffle the prevailing serenity. The violins set forth one more theme of the husband, "fiery," and rising to forte. The first theme, repeated by the bassoons [30] LIST OF WORKS Performed in the Afternoon Series

DURING THE SEASON 1958 - 1959

Bach Suite No. 4, in D major I November 15

Beethoven Symphony No. 7, in A major, Op. 92 I November 15

Piano Concerto No. 4, in G major, Op. 58 Soloist: EUGENE ISTOMIN IV February 21

Berlioz "Royal Hunt and Storm," Descriptive Symphony from "The Trojans" V March 14

Bloch "Schelomo" (Solomon), Hebrew Rhapsody for 'Cello and Orchestra Soloist: SAMUEL MAYES V March 14

Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a II December 13 Debussy "La Mer," Three Orchestral Sketches I November 15

Haydn Symphony in D major. No. 104 ("London") III January 17 Martinu "The Parables" (First performance in New York) IV February 21

Riegger Symphony No. 4, Op. 63 (First performance in New York) HI January 17

Roussel Rapsodie Flamande, Op. 56 IV February 21

Schumann Symphony No. 2, in C major, Op. 61 II December 13

Overture to Byron's Manfred, Op. 1.15 IV February 21

Stravinsky "Symphonie de Psaumes," for Orchestra with Chorus CHORUS PRO MUSICA - Alfred Nash Patterson, Conductor III January 17

Strauss Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53 V March 14

A. TcHEREPNiN Symphony No. 4, in E, Op. 91 (First performance in New York) II December 13

Robert Shaw conducted the concert on January 17

[31J and 'cellos, leads directly to the theme of the wife (lively and capri- cious, with prominent violin solo) . It is developed with the husband's first and "fiery" themes, and there enters the third character in the domestic drama. The child's theme is tenderly sung by the oboe d'amore, over a string accompaniment. There are boisterous trills, adoring exclamations,* and there fol- lows a joyous, romping scherzo, with themes of husband and wife worked in in a grazioso spirit. If the child is being put to bed, as the German analyst tells us, the father takes a conspicuous part in the process. The music subsides to a cradle song which ends as the clock softly strikes seven, and there follows a last gentle lullaby for suc- cessive wood-wind instruments and 'cello, to an accompaniment of clarinet arpeggios. The adagio follows. The themes of the husband appear still again, and are treated with full orchestration and new variety. This sec- tion has been labelled "Doing and Thinking," but the score itself gives no verbal aid. The wife's chief theme is treated also with in-

creased lyricism, and the two are blended in what is called the "Love Scene," rising to a moving climax. There follows a section which has acquired the label **Dreams 'and Cares," a soft music of blissful

reminiscence, in which the child, too, is fondly remembered. The dreams fade; day has come again. The morning hour of seven strikes,

and at once the child is awake, as joyous trills on the flutes and muted trumpets attest.

There is a family romp before which the former one pales, in the

form of a double fugue. The first subject is derived from the child's

theme. The bassoons start it, and the other winds take it up. The fugal discourse is rich in complexity and various in color, four saxo- phones presently taking their part in the argument. The violins in their high register start the second subject. Themes of the husband

and wife are both involved. The climax of the fugue is reached and diminishes over a long pedal point. The last section of the finale, labeled "Joyous Decision," opens with a new theme for the 'cellos, which introduces a folk-like theme in the winds. The domestic felicity is still further developed with themes of husband and wife. The evocative "dreamy" theme of the husband attains new imaginative eloquence, and gives way once more to the child's theme. The "easy- going" theme of the husband attains a powerful assertion. The adagio is recalled. The symphony ends in jubilation. [copyrighted]

Over brass notes in the score is inscribed: "Die Tanten: 'Ganz der Papa!* — Die Onketn: 'Gam die Mama !' "

[38] RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTS BY THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The following stations are broadcasting Boston Symphony concerts on a live, sustaining basis, as of the present date:

Friday Afternoon Series WGBH-FM, Cambridge WAMC-FM, Albany

Saturday Evening Series WGBH-FM, Cambridge WCRB-AM-FM, Waltham WQXR-AM-FM, New York

Also the WQXR Network consisting of stations in New York State ai follows: Wethersfield, Bristol Center, Ithaca, DeRuyter, Cherry Valley, Niagara Falls, Olean, Troy, Utica, Binghamton, Jamestown.

Sunday Afternoon Series WXHR-FM, Cambridge

Tuesday Cambridge Series WGBH-FM-TV, Cambridge WEDK-FM, Springfield WAMC-FM, Albany TRANSCRIBED BROADCASTS In addition to these live, sustaining broadcasts, transcrip- tions are being made for delayed commercial broadcast. The Friday and Saturday programs will be presented and, beginning with June, Pops programs of 1959.

WBCN, Boston, Mass. (Monday evenings) WFMT, Chicago, 111. WBCN, Boston, Mass. XStereophonically on WFMR, Milwaukee, Wise. WGBH, Boston, Mass./ Friday evenings KAFE, San Francisco, Cal. WXCN, Providence, R. I. KCBH, Los Angeles, Cal. WHCN, Hartford, Conn. KEFM, Oklahoma City, Okla. WKRC-FM, Cincinnati, Ohio WGMS, Washington, D. C. KCFM, St. Louis, Mo. TRANSATLANTIC BROADCASTS On January 23 and February 13, the Boston Symphony concert was transmitted to Europe by the Transatlantic Cable. It was broadcast live by means of the BBC, Radio Brussels, Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and Yugoslav Radio. A clilld respondsTONE

The Acrosonic rewards even the smallest musical efforts with the

kind of full, singing tone usually associated only with large and

costly pianos. It is a constant invitation to music. , Your child's hands will find the Acrosonic touch a special de-

light — with its quick response and patented full-blow action. In every way, you will find the small extra investment in a truly fine piano more than justified in the Acrosonic by Baldwin. Your choice of a variety of styles, including Traditional, Con- temporary, Modern, Transitional and Provincial. Complete se-

lection of handsome finishes.

THE BALDWIN PIANO COMPANY f CINCINNATI OHIO

ALSO BUILT BY BALDWIN: BALDWIN AND HAMILTON PIANOS, BALDWIN AND ORGA-SONIC ORCANSj